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SAN ANTONIO
POLICE DEPARTMENT
ALARM PERMIT INFORMATION |
You may print out a copy of
the Alarm Permit Form by clicking below for the desired format:
CITY OF SAN ANTONIO ALARM ORDINANCE
The City of San Antonio has a City Ordinanceconcerning the
regulation of alarm systems. Re:Section 25,
Chapter IV of the Code of the City of San Antonio.
All alarm system users are required to have an alarm
permit upon activation of the alarm system. U.S. Government,
State, City and County entities that operate alarm systems
are also required to obtain an alarm permit. Automatic
dialers programmed to directly notify the San Antonio
Police Department are also regulated by the Alarm Ordinance.
Newly Activated Alarms: Persons operating a newly
activated alarm system must notify the SAPD Alarms Investigations Office
(207-8282), within 12 hours after commencing operation,
of the address of the alarm site, the name and address
of the operator, and of any contact persons. Persons who
give such notification are exempt from the permit requirement for
a period not to exceed 4 calendar days.
ALARM REGISTRATION & PERMITS
ALL alarm systems being operated within the Corporate limits of
the City of San Antonio must be registered with the San antonio
Police Department. Alarm permits are
issued by the San Antonio Police Department Alarms Investigations Office.
DOWNLOAD A BROCHURE CONCERNING ALARMS.
ALARM REGISTRATION FEES ARE:
| TYPE OF PERMIT | NEW | RENEWAL |
| RESIDENTIAL-Senior Over 65** | $35 | $35 |
| RESIDENTIAL-Regular | $40 | $40 |
| COMMERCIAL-Business | $100 | $100 |
| GOVERNMENT | NO FEE | NO FEE |
| GATED DEVELOPMENT* | $50 | NO FEE |
* "Gated Development" pertains to GATE OPERATORS
ONLY and not to Residential Alarm Sites.
** "Senior Over 65" is for property owners who are 65 years of age
or older and claim their residence as their Homestead. |
Effective October 1, 2009, the above stated fees for All Alarm
Registrations are for 1 year.
Renewal notices are mailed to permit holders 30 days prior to
the permit expiration date.
TO OBTAIN AN ALARM PERMIT:
DOWNLOAD A PERMIT FORM:
You may print out a copy of
the Alarm Permit Form by clicking below for the desired format:
You may access these forms from the SAPD
web FORMS PAGE. (You
will need Adobe Acrobat, which you can download free from
that page.) After completing
the form, please enclose a check and mail to the Alarms
Investigations Office, PO Box 839948, SA, TX 78283-3948.
(You MUST enclose the fee with the application.)
BY PHONE, MAIL OR E-MAIL:
You may telephone or write to the Alarms
Office (210-207-8282, PO Box 839948, San Antonio, TX 78283-3948 or through
E-Mail to ALARMS OFFICE) and
request a permit application form, which can be mailed back
to you. Mail the completed form
AND fee to the Alarms Investigations Office.
After application and fee have been processed, an Alarm
Permit with your permit number will be mailed to you.
(Fee
MUST be included with the application form.)
IN PERSON:
You may come to the Police Department
Alarms Investigations Office at 214 W. Nueva St., between the hours of
7:45 am and 4:00 pm, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays).
PENALTY FOR NON-REGISTRATION OF ALARMS
ALL Alarm Fees must be paid before a permit will be issued/renewed.
It is a violation of City Ordinance to operate an
alarm system without a current and valid alarm permit.
The residence or business owner
shall be charged an Unpermitted Alarm Fee of $75.00 at a Residential
alarm site for each false alarm, and an Un-Permitted Alarm Fee of
$125 at a commercial alarm site for each false alarm
call where the residence or business does not have a valid alarm permit.
In addition, noncompliance could result in
a fine of not less than $300 and up to $500, for
each separate offense may be assessed.
THE PROBLEM OF FALSE ALARMS
False Alarms are a major problem in San Antonio.
Each year, over 90% of ALL burglary alarm calls in San Antonio are
false. This is an inefficient use of police officers' time
and a waste of city resources. Therefore, the City of San
Antonio and the San Antonio Police Department are working
closely with the alarm industry and with alarm system users to
decrease the problem of False Alarms.
Each alarm user in San Antonio will be notified,
whenever possible, after each false alarm. In most cases,
the officer answering the alarm call will leave a printed
notice at the premises.
PENALTY FOR EXCESSIVE FALSE ALARMS
Section 25-57(k) and 25-66(a)of the City Code of the City of San Antonio
establish the following fees for excessive false alarms:
| BURGLARY | There is no service fee for the first three (3) false
alarms.
A $50 fee for the 4th and 5th false alarms, and $75 for the
6th and 7th false alarms, and $100 for the 8th and
successive false alarms within the 12-month
permit cycle. |
ROBBERY
(Includes panic and duress alarms) |
There is no service fee for the first false alarm.
$200 for the 2nd false alarm.
$300 for the 3rd false alarm.
$400 for the 4th false alarm.
$500 for the 5th and successive false alarms within the
12-month permit cycle.
|
| FIRE | There is no service fee for the first false fire alarm activation.
$125 for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th false fire alarm activation.
$250 for the 5th through 9th false fire alarm activation.
$500 for the 10th and successive false fire alarm activations
within the 12-month permit cycle.
Prior to the arrival of the Fire Department personnel, if a false fire, smoke,
or heat alarm notification is cancelled, the holder of an alarm permit shall
pay, instead, a service fee as follows:
$50 for the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th False fire alarm activation
$125 for the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th false fire alarm
activations
$250 for the 11th and successive false alarms within the 12-month permit cycle. |
Any outstanding false alarm service fees must be
paid before an alarm permit can be renewed.
APPEALS: An alarm permit holder may appeal issues regarding
false alarms to the Office of the Chief of Police and
the Alarms Investigations Office.
NOTICE: The San Antonio Police Department will
respond to ALL alarm calls, whether the alarm has a valid
permit or not, and whether or not the fees and fines are
paid. However, in the case of such violations, additional
fees and fines will be assessed.
If the alarm site does not
have an alarm permit (through non-registration or through having
been revoked), the alarm system user will be subject to a fine of between
$300 and $500, for each separate occurrence.
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CONTACTING THE SAPD ALARMS INVESTIGATIONS OFFICE
The SAPD Alarms Investigations Office is located at the SAPD
Main Headquarters Building, 214 W. Nueva St., San Antonio, TX.
The phone number is (210)207-8282.
The MAILING ADDRESS for correspondence is:
San Antonio Police Department
Alarms Investigations Office
P.O. Box 839948
San Antonio, TX 78283-3948.
The E-Mail Address for questions or correspondence is:
SAPD ALARMS OFFICE
USING THE ALARMS DATABASE
The ALARMS DATABASE
contains the following information:
- TOTAL NUMBER OF ALARM CALLS (to your premises in past 12 months)
- DATE OF YOUR MOST RECENT FALSE ALARM CALL
- EXPIRATION DATE OF YOUR ALARM PERMIT.
You may access information about your alarm through
entering your Alarm Permit Number. Access cannot be gained
through name, address or any other field. Information
displayed does not include your name or your address, only
your Alarm Permit Number, number of alarm calls, date of most
recent alarm call, and expiration date of your permit.
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